India, Oct. 5 -- Sixth seed Elina Svitolina is set to take on 25th seed Maria Sakkari in an intriguing round-of-32 encounter at the 2026 China Open on Lotus Court. Svitolina, currently ranked No. 7 in the world, has enjoyed a strong campaign this season, compiling a 44-13 record and collecting two singles titles. However, she was pushed hard in her previous match, recovering from a first-set loss to overcome Katerina Siniakova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. Her defensive resilience and consistency remain major strengths, although another slow start could give Sakkari an early advantage.

Sakkari comes into the contest with a 21-18 record but looked far more convincing in her previous outing, cruising past Storm Hunter 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round. T...